When did you start composing
music for films and TV?
Around 1994, I composed the
music for my first short film while I was living in Puerto Rico.
Was it something that you knew
you wanted to do, or did it happen gradually?
I’ve always loved film and was
inspired by the music of the classic films of the 1930’s and 40’s. The
progression from musician, to writing music for advertising to writing music
for film seemed destine to happen, one thing lead to the next. But to answer
your question, it wasn’t exactly something I knew I wanted to do.
What inspired you to start
composing?
As a musician, I guess there
comes a time where one feels the need to express feelings and ideas. Many of my
friends were writers, so I decided to try my hand at it. I wasn’t really
inspired to write in the true sense of the word until I achieved a degree of
control over how to translate my experiences and feelings into music while
offering a valid musical statement that would move others.
Is there an instrument that
you tend to write your music on?
I write primarily using piano.
What are your influences?
This is a question with a very
complex and yet, a very simple answer. Anything and everything usually has some
influence on a writer’s expression as they learn to turn what they see and
experience into music or art. However, specific early influences would be the
great stories of the films and musicals I watched in amazement as a child:
Captains Courageous, Great Expectations, Wizard of Oz, African Queen, Yankee
Doodle Dandy, Singing in the Rain, West Side Story. Then, as a young musician
playing drums, I was influenced by the music of the big band era: Count Basie,
Stan Kenton, Kay Kyser, Buddy Rich. I admired the clever writing and clean arrangements
of the Tijuana Brass, and later groups like The Beatles. Later, other
significant influences were the films of Fellini, Kurosawa, Bergman. When I
began to write, I was able to call upon those stories and the accompanying
music, the instrumentation, and the arrangements. They continue to be an
inspiration.
Where does your passion for
music come from?
From the love, compassion, and
the curiosity I feel for life and the living things in life: from children
playing to whales calling to clouds in the sky. I hope that’s not too
whimsical. I think myself to be a very passionate person.
Is there a piece of music that
inspires you?
The music of Mozart inspires
me most, but there are many others. Mozart’s last three symphonies #39-41, as
an ensemble, since they were written within a six-week period, inspired me to
express myself through writing more than anything else. His expression of the
human condition found in this music ranges from profound sadness to triumphant
joy.
What are your favourite styles
of music to write or play?
I love playing jazz and even
pop music as a drummer. As a writer, I love writing for the traditional western
orchestra, the expression is incomparable and that since that instrumentation
continues to work so well with film.
You
have worked with a lot of people who gave you the best advice?
Whoever
said to me less is more. And Bernard Herrmann, for saying that the space where
you choose not to put music is perhaps more important than where do you put
music.
Do you get a lot of time to
listen to modern music? Any favourite artists that you have?
Sometimes. It’s tricky for me
to keep up with what’s new. I’m open to any suggestions!
Favourite artists are many:
Aaron Copland, Count Basie, Stevie Wonder, Annie Lennox, Pink Floyd, Michel
Legrand, Ennio Morricone, Alan
Sylvestri, the list goes on.
What music do you enjoy
listening to casually?
I listen to everything I can
and go through phases of listening. For the most part, I listen to classic
soul, blues, big band swing, classic jazz, Beethoven, Mozart, Aaron Copland,
British and American rock and pop music.
Do you have a favourite
instrument?
I have several favourites:
Viola d’amore, Piano, English Horn.
How does the scoring process
happen for you? How do you go about making music for film? Do you work directly
with the filmmakers?
I usually work directly with
the filmmakers, director or producer. We use the Internet a lot these days.
Either in person together, or online, we will spot the film, (watching the
entire film together), we’ll analyze every scene defining the direction of the
music, in and out points, and the function of each music cue within a
particular scene. I will then head to the piano and begin writing the music
based on what we discussed, I will then record the newly written music and send
the completed music to the director as an audio file(s). They will watch the
film with my new music offer feedback and make any revisions. I would then
complete the revisions and send back. Make final mixes of the music. Done.
Do you have a favourite score
you have written? Or a score you are particularly proud of?
One of my favourite scores was
for the film, ‘All My Lenins’. The actors in the film were inspired and in turn
I was inspired to create a special score.
I can imagine writing and
composing music can be quite relaxing? Are there ever times when you feel you
have too much to do?
I work best under a certain
degree of pressure, however not too much. In my experience, sometimes ideas
come quickly other times take several days. Once the main themes for a film are
working, the rest is the enjoyable, the orchestration and hearing it all come
together. The time to relax for me comes when the score is completed and the
film is on the screen!
After exploring your music rooms on your
website, it’s clear that you have a wide range of styles and feelings. But
would you say that there is a particular style that characterises your work?
I’m comfortable working with traditional
western orchestral instruments, writing what may be summarized as orchestral
music. However, I have a great affinity for jazz and blues folk and popular
music, as well as the infinitely sonically diverse ethnic instruments from
around the world. Decades of listening and having studied drums and percussion
along with a love for a colourful sonic palette has allowed me to infuse into
my writing some of the diverse harmonic and rhythmic qualities of music and
musical styles from around the world.
Like a film director you must find your
work has similar qualities, do you find it hard to create different sounds and
moods?
If the film makes a strong statement, if
the story and characters are strong, coming up with equally strong musical
ideas can be much easier, Since I am writing and portraying a character and
aspects of the story, each one unique, the music can then make equally unique
statements. Determining which instruments to use in your portrayal also comes
with the nature of the story and characters. A good story writes itself, it
takes on a life of its own. The score follows and enhances.
How are your relationships with the
director? Do you find they give you control?
The film industry is built upon
relationships and trust. An experienced director hires their team after
thoughtful consideration looking at past work and then call upon those who
would best help in bringing the director’s vision of the story to the screen.
Some directors are aware of this and the production proceeds smoothly. Others,
however, are inexperienced and try to control every step of the process, accepting
little to none of the input offered by the composer, production team or the
actors. So the best director’s hire the right person for the job and allow them
to get to the work.
You have played in jazz bands,
marching bands and orchestras and you are now composing music for film. Do you
have an outlet you prefer? Is composing music for film the ideal situation for
you or would you prefer to be part of a touring rock band?
I love performing and I love
writing. Performing is a group activity
where the interaction between players can be as transporting an experience as
any other. Writing is a personal expression and when I write a piece of music
that sings, the experience is uniquely gratifying.
Do
you prefer using classical/ conventional instruments or do you mix in electric
instruments like synthesisers and sound effects?
Both
electronic and traditional instruments have their place in music. I found the
important thing to remember is to use the chosen instrument within its sonic
limitations, within the range of the instrument. The composer must also be
knowledgeable as to the various articulations of each instrument they use in a
composition and write for them accordingly.
I
noticed there is a Stanley Kubrick quote on your website, famous for playing
his scores whilst he was filming. Is he someone who you would have liked to
have worked with?
Absolutely.
He was a pioneering master of film with profound personal expression. Kubrick
was the example of commitment and unswerving vision.
Speaking at Carnegie Hall must
have been a special night and achievement for you. Were you nervous at all for
it?
That
was a great honour for me. I was somewhat nervous thinking that everyone on the
stage with me was experienced speaking in public discoursing and critiquing
society. Would the very select Carnegie Hall audience find what I had to say
valid? However, when I somehow made the entire audience laugh with a comment on
Michael Moore, the ice was broken for everyone and I started breathing again.
Do you feel satisfied when you're
working on a project, or are you looking forward to the next thing?
If I’m working on a project with a good
story and a director who has a vision, it’s a pleasure. I am very much a
present time person and rarely look for the next thing to be any better than
what’s going on at this very moment.
Have you ever considered composing music
for live action like theatre productions, or even video games? There must be
huge market for video games scores.
I have written music for the theatre,
The Last Days of Lenny Bruce was a theatrical play and I wrote some background
music in the cool era jazz style, ala Lenny.
Are there any scores that you
wish you had written?
Not really. But I will say,
there are so many beautiful scores I admire and use standards to which I
compare all others: Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Cinema Paradiso, Doctor Zhivago,
The Man Who Knew Too Much, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Good the Bad, and the
Ugly, Dances with Wolves, Star Trek, Citizan Kane, just to name a very few.
If
you could work with any director, who would it be?
Martin
Scorsese. He is a music historian with an innate ability to incorporate music
into his films.
Looking
ahead just a bit, what are some of your plans for the upcoming year?
For young people starting out now who
want to be composers; what advice do you have for someone who wants to do what
you do and is just starting out?
Listen to everything you can. Learn
everything you can. Read about the masters, watch all the classics, experiment
with combinations of instruments and most important, do not copy other
composers, learn from them: find your own voice, use your own unique ideas. The
music that works in a film, as film music, is not always the most obvious
choice. Keep an open mind as to what works, experiment with several things.
Music that works in a film might never be something people would choose to
listen to on its own, but married with film it becomes a powerful statement.
Tell the story with your music. And above all learn to be a diplomat. You have
to have the ability to accommodate the egos and personalities of several people
who’s hopes, dreams, and future may lie with success of the film that has been
entrusted to your care.
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